


when it comes to luck (you make your own)

by badritual



Category: Baseball RPF
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Family, Instagram, M/M, Non-Famous Family Members As Characters, Open Relationships, Social Media
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-06
Updated: 2019-01-06
Packaged: 2019-10-05 05:02:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17318582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/badritual/pseuds/badritual
Summary: José feels like he knows the McCann family as well as his own—after following Jess’s pregnancy and motherhood journey through her various accounts—but James has always been a mystery.





	when it comes to luck (you make your own)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [izzetboilerworks](https://archiveofourown.org/users/izzetboilerworks/gifts).



> **Additional Warnings/Notes:** This is extremely AU. José’s family, James’s parents, and the twins are fictional. James’s wife appears briefly as a character. Mention of divorce. The marriage is already technically over but they’re still legally married. If any sort of extramarital relationship bothers you, don’t read this.
> 
> Title from "Lucky Town," by Bruce Springsteen
> 
> Thanks to Tracey for the read through.

José settles in front of his desktop computer with a mug of hot chocolate and clicks on the mouse. A sunny, overly posed image of himself and Maria on their wedding day is wiped away like someone took a dry eraser to a whiteboard. 

He sneaks a quick glance at the watch around his wrist; he’s got a couple minutes before the weekly live chat. 

José opens Instagram in his browser and scrolls through until he finds the account he’s looking for. 

_McCannsDoublePlay_

There are a couple new pictures on the feed today—Jess McCann modeling some of the clothing she features on her blog and website—along with a new Instagram story.

José clicks on the userpic and a short video pops up.

_“Hey, everybody! We’ve got some new stuff on the website, if y’all are interested! All proceeds go toward charity.”_ Jess McCann smiles sweetly for the camera as she bounces one of the twins on her knee. _“Unfortunately, I won’t be around today for our weekly live chat, but don’t worry! Jimmy’s back for a few days and he’ll be takin’ over my account today. Don’t give him **too** hard of a time!”_

The video blips out of existence and José sits back in his leather office chair. 

Frowning, José clicks on one of the new pictures and starts typing out a message.

_Jessica, I hope everything is okay and you will be back with us next week!!! I love watching your videos, your boys seem very happy!!! They are cute. :)_

He clicks send and watches his message pop up under the picture of Jess and the twins modeling their matching T-shirts. 

A comment pops up almost immediately under José’s.

_Candelita90, thank u for your kind comment. Jess is out of town visiting family and will be back next week. I’ll pass on ur message. Hope u will stick around for today’s live chat anyway! – James_

Jess’s husband has never been on the live chats before, and José finds himself curious about him. He’s gleaned enough from her blogs, vlogs, and chats to know that he plays baseball, but he has virtually no social media presence. 

(José used to play baseball and he’d been pretty good at it, too. Maybe he and James could have been teammates, in another lifetime.)

José feels like he knows the McCann family as well as his own—after following Jess’s pregnancy and motherhood journey through her various accounts—but James has always been a mystery. 

José’s phone vibrates in his pocket and he pulls it out, opening the lockscreen. 

**McCannsDoublePlay has just gone live!**

José opens up Instagram and clicks on the live video. 

_“Hey, y’all. Thanks for joinin’ us. Sorry Jess couldn’t be with ya today, but she had a family emergency back home in Kentucky.”_

The camera zooms in on the two little babies napping in their cribs, in matching baseball-printed onesies. Comments flood in, asking after Jess, offering prayers, and cooing over the twins. 

_“The little guys are all tuckered out. They’ve had a long day,”_ James says, turning the camera to face him so he can speak directly into it.

He’s broad-shouldered, with dark hair and bright blue eyes, and about a week’s worth of stubble lining his jaw. He’d be José’s perfect man if he wasn’t the happily married father of twins. 

José’s mouth goes dry anyway. He sips at his cup of now-lukewarm chocolate. 

_“Sorry, MahtookMyBreathAway. I can’t wake ’em up. They need their rest,”_ James says, laughing a little as he squints at his phone screen. _“They should be up for their afternoon snack in a little bit, though. But you’re stuck with me for now.”_

José starts typing a message into the comment field.

_You should do move of these videos!!!! You seem like a good dad!!! :)_

José sends the message and wipes his damp palms on his jeans.

James glances down at screen and smiles. _“Thanks, Candelita. I’d love to, but I’m a pretty busy guy. I’ll try hoppin’ on for a li’l chat when I have some free time, though.”_

José taps his finger against his bottom lip before typing out another message and hitting **send**.

_You play baseball? Jess mentioned last week!_

James opens his mouth to respond to José’s message, but one of the twins starts stirring in his crib so James goes over to check on him. He flips the phone screen back around and zooms in on the tiny baby, kicking his legs and pumping his arms as he opens his mouth and lets out a warbly cry.

 _“I think somebody’s hungry,”_ James says. _“Hold on, guys. I’ll be right back.”_

The screen goes dark for a moment as James sticks it in his shirt pocket. The shirt muffles the noise, but José can still make out the gentle rumble of James’s voice and the babies’ hungry cries that soon dissolve into the contented sounds of eating.

After a few minutes, James plucks the phone out of his pocket and aims it at one of the twins. 

_“So, yes, I play baseball,”_ James says, as he zooms in on the baby. José can see that his shirt says **TIMOTHY** in big block letters. _“I’m a catcher for the Detroit Tigers.”_

 _I played too!_ José types out. _I had to stop though. I’ll look up your stats!!!_

 _“Don’t do that,”_ James says with a self-deprecating little laugh as his hand comes into the frame to stroke the pale peach fuzz on Timothy’s head. _“I’m not havin’ a very good year.”_

José laughs, his cheeks warming, before typing a message in the chat window and sending it. 

_I’m sure it’s not that bad!!!_

James reads José’s latest message and grins, dimples grooving into his cheeks. _“You ain’t gonna say that after you look me up.”_

James aims the phone screen at Timothy as he carries him over to the crib and sets him down. A hand comes into view, tucking a pale blue blanket around Timothy. Then the phone turns until another baby is in view. His shirt is nearly identical to Timothy’s, though his has **THOMAS** stenciled in black bold lettering.

 _“Lemme introduce y’all to Thomas,”_ comes James’s disembodied voice. _“Timothy is the ham. The scene-stealer. Thomas is the chill, laidback one.”_

The baby labeled **THOMAS** gurgles and kicks his legs, showing off a gummy smile.

José’s heart aches at the sight of James with the twins and, for just a moment, he allows himself to think of Maria, and little Antonio. But only for a moment. If he lingers on their memory too long, he gets sad. 

Or, well, sadder. He’s never really _not_ sad, not since he lost them both. But watching Jess McCann’s videos, and getting to know her and the twins—and now her husband, James—has helped him deal. Helped him cope with everything.

José wipes his eyes and glances back at his laptop screen. James has the phone aimed at the babies again; Timothy and Thomas are lying side by side on a baseball-print blanket, cooing and chattering nonsensically at one another. 

_They look like you_ , José types out, even though it’s too early to tell which parent the babies favor. 

José hears the notification chime on James’s phone a few seconds later.

 _“How can ya even tell?”_ James asks, sounding skeptical. He moves the phone closer to Timothy and Thomas. _“I think they got Jess’s dimples and neither of ’em have blue eyes like I do.”_

James turns the phone until it’s on his own face, and he gives a dumb smile and wave. José shouldn’t find it as charming as he does. 

And José definitely shouldn’t find James—Jess McCann’s husband, of all people—so damn attractive. He’s got dark, sapphire-blue eyes, an upturned nose, and a smattering of freckles dusted across his cheeks. He’s also strong and solid from his line of work, his muscles unmistakable even while hidden by a dumpy sweatshirt. 

José bites his bottom lip until it aches. 

He really needs to get out more.

James mercifully turns the phone screen back toward Thomas and Timothy, who seem to have conked out for the afternoon.

 _“Thanks for spendin’ some time with us today, guys,”_ James says, dropping his voice to a whisper. _“Jess should be back with y’all in a day or two. As for me, me and the guys are goin’ on a roadtrip so this’s the last y’all are gonna see of me for a while. Bye!”_

The screen goes dark and José sits there, prodding at the split in his lip with the tip of his tongue for a few minutes. After clicking around for a few minutes on Jess’s account, José finds James’s profile and clicks on it. 

His page is spare and infrequently updated, with only a few photos and some ads for hunting gear and Yeti thermoses. José clicks the **follow** button and waffles for a little bit before he taps on the little airplane icon.

 _Hey James_ , José types out. 

He pauses, chewing on the inside of his cheek, before backspacing and closing the window. 

James, Jess, and their twin boys seem perfectly happy. José is just lonely and still grieving. That’s no reason to insert himself into their lives. 

He shuts down his computer and goes out for a walk.

*** 

When José gets back in from his walk and checks the messages on his phone, he sees a notification from Instagram.

_McCannon1027 has accepted your friend request_

José smiles to himself and swipes the notification away.

*** 

A couple days later, José is messing around on Instagram when he notices he has a new message. He clicks the icon, bringing up his messages, and he’s surprised to see one from McCannon1027. James.

 _Hey Candelita_ , it reads, _I noticed you in the chat the other day. My account’s not as interesting as Jess’s but I’m happy to have ya anyway._

José feels his cheeks flush—and it’s like he’s back in high school, in the death-grip of some hopeless crush. 

José starts tapping out a reply.

_I just thought you were so good with those babies. A lot of dads can’t wait to get away. But I can tell that’s not you. I was the same way with my son. Hold onto these moments. They only come by once._

He hits **send**.

With a wistful, almost sad sigh, José swipes away the app and puts his phone aside. His chest tightens and his eyes sting; it’s been over a year and he still can’t think of Maria and Antonio without a lump in his throat. Would there ever come a day when he could think about them without aching?

José rubs his thumb into his eyes. 

He misses the sound of their laughter the most, especially Antonio’s. Sometimes, he thinks he can still hear Antonio’s bright, sunny giggles coming from the room that had once been his. But whenever José pokes his head in, all he sees is the empty bed—still rumpled from the last time Antonio had slept in it—and the cobwebs and dust that cover every inch of his room.

There are soccer trophies draped in cobwebs and blue science fair ribbons that are fraying with inattention and fading in the sun that shafts through cracked blinds. And there’s a closet full of clothes that José’s been meaning to take to the Salvation Army but he’s just never gotten around to it. 

The absence of Maria and Antonio hasn’t seemed so sharp and jagged and raw since he found James and Jess McCann, and their twins, though. 

Maybe it’s not entirely healthy, living vicariously through this little family he doesn’t even know—and never really will—but it…it helps. 

*** 

A few days later, when José checks his Instagram messages, he sees another one from Jess McCann’s husband.

_Candelita, thank you for your message. Words can’t describe how touched I was when I read it. Do you live in the Detroit area? I’d love to have you and your family out for a game. Let me know. Blessings to you and yours. James_

José smiles, his cheeks warming like a boy with a crush. 

_Thank you for the kindness of your offer. I would love that, but unfortunately my family isn’t with me anymore. My wife and son Antonio live in Miami. We are divorced. I don’t get to see Antonio that much anymore. It is hard. But I watch yours and your wife’s videos, and it brings a little bit of my son back to me._

James’s reply pops up almost immediately after José sends his message.

_If you’re comfortable, why don’t you come out? You can sit with the boys in the family section. We’d love to have ya._

Something twists in José’s gut, though he can’t exactly pinpoint the feeling. _I don’t want to be like a guest who overstays his welcome! But if you insist, I would be happy to be your guest_ , José replies.

_Then it’s done. I’ll leave a ticket for you at will-call for Monday’s game against the Astros. See you then, Candelita._

José sits back in his office chair and gazes at the computer screen, and James’s message. A few minutes later, the screen blinks out and an image of Maria and Antonio, then only a few days old, whisks onto his screen. José fights down a sudden swell of grief, his eyes prickling with uncomfortable heat. 

Now’s no time for him to be sad. He’ll see Antonio again, even if it’s not as soon—or for as long—as he wishes. It’s just taking him some time getting used to being on his own after being with Maria and their son for so long. 

José wipes the tears off his cheeks and shuts his computer down. The picture vanishes and the tightness around his chest disappears. 

*** 

José shows up to the family section, feeling awkward, like everyone’s eyes are on him. James had sent him an email with instructions on how to pick up the ticket—which is now resting in his pocket—along with a family pass which he has hanging from his neck. Some women, their arms and laps full of squirming babies, give him a once over and then whisper amongst themselves. 

José finds his seat, next to an older, heavyset woman with a baby in her lap. When José sits down and takes a closer look, he realizes it’s one of James’s twins. The baby has a bib on, bearing the name **TIMOTHY** in block letters. An older man sitting a seat down has a sleeping Thomas in his lap.

“Hello,” José says, nodding politely to the older couple, assuming them to be James’s or Jess’s parents. “Is Jessica here?”

The woman looks over at him and offers him a small smile. “No, not today,” she says. “I’m James’s mother. Linda.” She unwraps an arm from the sleeping baby in her lap and offers her hand to José. 

“I’m José,” he says, smiling at her, and then glancing at the baby. He chucks Timothy gently under his chubby chin.

“This is my husband, Tom,” Linda says, patting the man on the chest. “And that’s our other grandbaby, Thomas.”

“How d’you know our son?” Tom drawls, politely enough. 

“I meet him and his wife through their Instagram,” José explains.

Linda and Tom share a _look_ José can’t decipher. 

Linda recovers first, flashing José a too-wide smile. “That’s lovely to hear,” she says. “Tom and I weren’t too hot about the idea of puttin’ every moment of every day on the Internet for the world to see. But Jimmy and Jessica insisted. They wanted to make an impact and they thought they could do it with our grandbabies.”

José nods, getting the distinct impression that Linda doesn’t agree. “I wouldn’t’ve met them otherwise,” he says, offering her another smile. “They’re good people.”

“Are you a big baseball fan?” Tom asks.

José nods eagerly. “I am. I used to play.”

“Used to?” Linda asks, rocking baby Timothy slowly in her arms. 

“I got hurt,” he explains, sitting back against the hard plastic back of the seat. “My knees, they don’t work too good no more. I come here to Detroit ’cause my wife—um, my ex-wife, she from here.”

Linda offers José a sympathetic smile and a pat on the arm.

José settles in with the McCann family, wondering where Jess might be, and if he’ll meet her later. Maybe Jess will put something about him on her Instagram page. Maybe he’ll even get to meet James too. 

The thought of meeting James thrills him, a sweet, hot curl of _something_ unspooling low in his gut like a length of ribbon. He pushes the feeling away though. He’s been around long enough to know what it is and that he shouldn’t be feeling it for someone else’s husband. 

*** 

The Tigers end up winning the game on a walkoff single, and afterward José goes down to the family lounge with Linda, Tom, and the babies. He feels vaguely out of place amongst James’s teammates’ families, but he pastes a pleasantly bland smile on his face and tries to avoid jabbing anyone with his elbows or step on any toes.

A dark, polished mahogany door opens and James steps out. His blue eyes brighten immediately when he spots Linda with the twins in her arms. And then his eyes glide over to José.

“Oh, hey. You must be Candelita.” James strides forward and holds his hand out to José.

José looks down at it—large, callused—and wraps his hand around James’s, shaking firmly. “Yes. Nice to meet you,” he says, looking up at James and smiling. “You can call me José.”

“José,” James echoes, smiling back, still holding onto his hand. “Nice to finally put a face to the name.”

James finally slips his hand away from José’s after a few minutes and turns to Linda, taking one of the twins out of her arms. José watches as James’s mother fusses with the baby’s onesie and ruffles his light brown hair.

“Thank you for inviting me,” José says. “I had a good time.”

“Hope they didn’t give ya too much trouble,” James says, flashing him a grin.

“Oh no, not at all,” José gushes, his cheeks warming when he realizes he sounds like a schoolboy with a crush.

Which… if José is being honest with himself, he kind of _is_ a schoolboy with a crush.

“Well, we were plannin’ on grabbin’ lunch,” Linda speaks up. “José, will you be joinin’ us?”

“Oh, I couldn’t—” José begins, but James waves him off.

“We’d love to have you,” James says, offering José a burgeoning smile. “If you want to come, of course.”

José grins at James. “Sure. I’d love to,” he says. 

James beams back at him and rests a hand on José’s shoulder. He tries not to think about how big and warm and _inviting_ his hand is. As James pulls his hand back, José swears he can still feel the warmth of James’s skin through the thin cotton of his T-shirt. 

*** 

After lunch, James drops his parents and the twins off at the hotel they’re staying at. They head back to the ballpark, where José’s car is waiting in the reserved parking spot that belongs to his wife.

As José unbelts himself and gathers his things—a plastic bag of souvenirs, his bag of leftovers—when he turns back to James.

“Thanks for inviting me to the game,” he says, grateful. “I had a really good time.”

José feels this sudden, unfamiliar urge to ask James if he wants to do this again regardless of the fact James is a married father of two.

José must give himself away, though, because James offers him a soft, kind smile and touches his elbow lightly.

“I’m glad,” he says, his tone warm and rich, honeyed with fondness. “Maybe we could…” 

James’s voice fades, as he looks off in the distance, and José watches him, wondering. 

“Maybe we could…?” José prompts.

James sighs and rubs his hand across his face, letting out a quiet chuckle. “I like you, José,” he says.

José’s skin prickles with anticipation. Is James going to ask him out? Like, on a date? José chews on the inside of his cheek and waits.

Finally, James continues.

“I had a great time with you and I really wanna do it again sometime, but…it’s a complicated situation,” he says, his smile rueful.

“How you mean?” José asks, curiously.

“It’s me and Jess,” he explains. “We’re… It’s… It’s a long story, and not that interesting.”

“I’m interested. If you ever wanna explain, I guess,” José says, feeling immediately embarrassed by his eagerness. He steps back and scratches at the back of his calf with the toe of his shoe, shyly. 

James chews on his bottom lip for a moment before something in his clear blue eyes turns them to steel as he makes up his mind about something. “I’ll tell you all about it sometime,” he says.

José grins, taking note of the implications behind the words. It implies that there’s a _sometime_ in the near future for them. 

“Yeah?” he asks. 

“Yeah,” James says.

José lets the thought wash over him like a warm wave. He’s not really sure what it all means, considering James has a wife and twin babies, but the promise of something _more_ is too alluring for José to pass up.

“Okay,” he says. “Let’s make a date.”

James pulls his phone out and brings up his calendar app. “So, when are you free?”

*** 

José meets up with James for lunch a week and a half later. The Tigers were on a roadtrip in California, and José finds himself staying up late into the night watching the games. He hasn’t watched this much baseball since he got forced out of the game due to injury. He’d just been so wrapped up in bitterness after he got hurt that he couldn’t bear to watch the games. Now he finds himself tuning in at 9:59 at the dot and watching the games from first pitch to final out.

He’s happy to have something to look forward to. 

They meet at a little Cuban place not too far from the ballpark. The restaurant hostess leads them to a patio, and James pulls out a seat for José. Then they sit down and take laminated menus.

José scans the wine list while James sips at a glass of ice water. 

“So,” James says, catching José’s attention. “I told you I’d explain the situation.”

“The situation,” José echoes.

“Yeah, the one with me and Jess,” James says. “And the twins.”

José nods and puts aside the laminated wine list. “Yeah?” he says, hoping he sounds encouraging.

“Jess and I... Well, it’s a complicated situation,” James says. “We’re husband and wife but…”

“But?” José asks.

“We split up a while ago,” James admits. “We’re married in name only.”

José sits there across from James, in stunned silence. _McCannsDoublePlay was a lie? The happy family was just a façade?_

Something must show on José’s face because James just laughs softly.

“The Instagram account was Jess’s idea,” he explains. “We didn’t find out about the pregnancy until we’d already decided to separate. We—well, Jess had the idea that we could stay married and put out this image of a nuclear family. And no one would ask questions.”

“Questions… About you?” José guesses, and James confirms his suspicions with a nod.

“Yeah,” he says. 

“How’s that even work?” José asks, as he spins his napkin around on the glass tabletop. “You both see other people?”

“Pretty much,” he says. “We still care about each other and, obviously, we both love the twins. But it’s basically… two really good friends raising babies together.”

“And that work for you,” José says.

“It works for us,” James agrees. He stirs his index finger in his glass of ice water. “Whaddaya think about all of this?”

José sits back and does think about it. It would certainly be… _complicated_ to get involved with someone like James, someone with a wife and twin babies, someone with a high-profile career to consider. 

But he can’t deny that there’s a connection there. José had felt the spark of the connection the first time he and James communicated. And he really, really wants to see where it goes. 

Common sense—which sounds suspiciously like his mother—nags at him, telling him that he shouldn’t give involved with a married man, even if he appears to be in a relationship that’s purely for show.

José puts aside his glass of water. “It sounds complicated,” he admits. “But I wanna try. I like you.”

“And I like you,” James says, reaching his hand out. 

José meets James in the middle, brushing their fingers together. He thinks about Maria and Antonio in Miami. “Then I don’t see why not,” José says. “Meeting you, meeting your family… It all feel so perfect. Like we supposed to meet. Like someone bring us together.”

“Yeah,” James agrees. “Fate.”

“Fate,” José echoes, trailing off, feeling almost dreamy, lost in the comforting warmth of the promise that _fate_ holds. 

*** 

_A month later_

José paces in front of the Tigers’ dugout, the dirt of the infield track crunching under his soles. He lifts a hand and shades his eyes, watching as Jess McCann totes Timothy in her arms as she runs the bases. James brings up the rear, Thomas sitting on his shoulders, his chubby little hands buried in James’s spiky brown hair. 

They look every bit the happy, loving family. And, in a way, they are.

When they’re done running the bases, James lifts a squealing Thomas off his shoulders and kisses him on his fat, reddened cheek. Jess smiles up at him and scoops Thomas into her arms. If José didn’t know any better, he might be jealous of their closeness. 

James joins José by the railing and greets him with a one-armed hug. José’s plastic family pass thumps solidly in the center of his chest.

“How you enjoyin’ Family Day?” James drawls, giving José’s shoulders a squeeze before stepping back. 

“Is good,” José says, beaming up at him. “Wish Antonio could’ve been here, he would’ve had a good time. Maybe next time.”

“Yeah,” James agrees.

José can’t help but thrill at the idea that he and James might be a family unit by then. 

Jess carries the twins over, and José can see she’s holding her phone in her hand. 

“José,” she says chipperly, “can ya take a picture of us? It’s for the Instagram page.”

José grins and takes Jess’s phone from her, stepping back to snap a couple different pictures of James and Jess, their arms full of squirming babies. 

When he’s done, he hands the phone back and watches as Jess posts one of them on her page. Almost instantaneously, the likes and comments start flowing in.

“They like it,” Jess comments, putting her phone in her shorts pocket. She looks over at José and smiles warmly at him.

José won’t lie and say it doesn’t feel a little strange to have slid into the McCann family as he has, because it does. But it feels right. Being with James feels right. And even Jess and their babies are starting to feel like family. 

Maybe someday José would introduce them to _his_ family. He thinks Antonio would love Timothy and Thomas.

It’s definitely not a conventional arrangement at all, but it works for all three of them.

“Y’all wanna grab somethin’ to eat?” James asks, slinging his arms around both José’s and Jess’s shoulders.

“I was thinkin’ we could get coney dogs,” Jess says. She looks over at José, patting her hand lightly on one of the babies’ backs. “You wanna hold him?” 

“Sure, I’d love to,” José says, accepting Timothy—his name emblazoned across the bib around his neck—and bouncing him gently in his arms. “Hey Timothy. It’s your _papá’s_ friend, José.”

Timothy flails his little arms and José grins when his tiny fingers tug at his sunglasses. 

“I think he likes you,” Jess says, laughing pleasantly. 

“I think he does,” José agrees, grinning at her.

*** 

After their day at the ballpark, Jess and the twins go home, while James takes José back to his place. 

José feels like he should invite James in, but he’s not sure if he should. José lingers in the doorway, while James waits on the porch perhaps waiting for José to let him in. 

Finally, José steps back and gestures for James to come in.

“You want water?” José asks, as he shuts the door behind James.

“Sure, that’d be great,” James says, following José into the kitchen.

He gets down a couple mugs and then fills them with tap water. But when he’s done, James bypasses the water to slide his hands around José’s waist and pull him in for a kiss. José slips his arms around James’s neck and presses back against him, pushing his tongue into his mouth. He feels one of James’s hands sliding under the back of his soft cotton T-shirt.

The kiss is everything José had imagined it would be. 

James leans back, smiling, a slightly dazed look on his face.

José rubs a hand over James’s bare arm. “That was—that was real nice for a first kiss,” he teases.

“You wanna practice some more?” James asks. 

José grins and stands up on his tiptoes to brush another kiss over James’s lips. “Lots and lots of practice.”

José laces his fingers with James’s and leads him from the kitchen and down the hall to his bedroom. 

James follows José into his bed and the sheets get thrown off, onto the floor. And then their clothes follow. 

José tugs James on top of him and arches up to kiss him. James’s bare, warm skin presses firmly against José’s, and he can feel James’s heavy cock against his thigh. 

José parts his legs and rolls his hips, rubbing up against James. He captures James’s guttural groan in his mouth, as he laces his fingers in the damp hair at the back of his neck.

Everything is hot and frantic and perfect. José digs his fingers into the muscles of James’s arms, clinging onto him. James slides perfectly between José’s legs, rocking against José, the bed creaking underneath them. 

José feels like he’s on fire, his skin lightly sheened with sweat, his dark curls clinging to his forehead. José feels James’s mouth pressing against his forehead and then his neck, with the barest hint of teeth. Something pleasant uncoils within him, spurring him on, driving him toward release.

He feels one of James’s big hands curling around him, moving slowly up and down his length. José hisses a breath out between his teeth when he feels James’s thumbnail scrape over the head of his cock, smearing the wetness that beads at the tip. 

José tips his head back a little bit and bites down on James’s shoulder as he tightens his grip around José’s cock. José gropes around until he wraps his own hand around James and starts stroking him. 

The only sound José can hear is their panting breaths and the legs of the bed scraping against the hardwood floor as they rock together. 

A few weeks ago, José never would have expected this to be his life. He was content watching James and the twins from afar, stealing glimpses of a family he’d never have—and a man he’d never love. But here he is, curls clinging to the sides of his face, sweat cooling on his skin, as James sucks marks on his neck. 

José doesn’t think he’d call himself lucky; after all, it took more than pure, dumb luck to meet James and his family. If José hadn’t gathered the nerve to reach out to James, none of this would have happened.

He wouldn’t have James here, now, in his bed. In his arms.

James presses another kiss against José’s neck, then parts his lips and sucks the salt off his skin. 

José lets out a soft sigh as he wriggles underneath him. 

“José, I’m—” James chokes on the words as he shivers against José. 

José digs his nails into James’s freckled shoulders as he comes, and then he tumbles after him a few minutes later.

They lay there together for a while, basking in the silence and the afterglow. Finally, James rolls off of José and traces patterns on José’s bare chest with his fingernail. 

“I think,” José says, breaking the silence that’d settled comfortably between them, but he doesn’t elaborate.

James looks over at him and lifts his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

“I think… Is time for you to meet Antonio,” José says. “Maria’s bringing him up for a visit.”

James smiles in the dark, a flash of his bright, white teeth. “I’d really like that,” he says.

“And the twins and Jess too?” José asks. “Is okay?”

“Yeah, it’s okay.” James leans in and kisses José lightly. “I’d like that.”

José burrows in against James’s chest and closes his eyes. He can’t wait to introduce Antonio to James and the twins. And he thinks Maria will get on with Jess pretty well. 

But that’s not until tomorrow. Right now—José rubs a hand over James’s sweat-damp chest and then trails it lower and lower—they have more pressing needs to take care of.

**Author's Note:**

> The author of this piece intends no insult, slander, or copyright infringement, and is not profiting from this work. This story is a complete work of fiction and does not necessarily reflect on the nature of the individuals featured. This is for entertainment purposes only. **If you found this story while Googling your name or the names of your friends, hit the back button now.**


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